Thousands of marijuana plants grow in a highly controlled environment from seed to harvest at a cultivation facility in Buckeye Lake.
PharmaCann, Inc., a Level I medical marijuana cultivation facility, harvests 36 times a year in Licking County.
“Everything’s controlled,” PharmaCann Manager of Cultivation Tommy Black said. “Everything from the light, the light’s intensity to the humidity (and) temperature … to make sure the plants have the right environment.”
Ohio cultivation facilities like PharmaCann could potentially be harvesting marijuana for recreational use if a proposed November ballot initiative passes. Existing medical marijuana cultivators and dispensaries would have the ability to obtain an adult-use license if voters approve the ballot, said Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol spokesperson Tom Haren. They are backing the ballot initiative.
“The process is not automatic,” he said. “There is an application process.”
The initiative would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and the sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
If that happens, PharmaCann is ready.
“We understand how the regulated market works,” said Brandon Nemec, PharmaCann’s government and regulatory affairs director. “We work very well with a very fair, very stringent, very strict, very fair regulator here in the state of Ohio. So if there is the opportunity to transition down the line, we’ll be ready for it.”
The Ohio Ballot Board will consider the language voters will see on the November ballot during Thursday’s meeting.
PharmaCann
PharmaCann opened their Buckeye Lake cultivation site in 2019 and grows about 1,500 plants in three different flower rooms — the final destination for the plants to grow until they are fully mature and ready to be harvested.
“When the plants are happy, it’ll do what it’s supposed to do,” Black said. “It’ll grow good, healthy, quality buds, where, like, if plants are stressed out, they’ll want to act up.”
The facility tries to mimic the seasonal cycle to help the plants grow. For instance, the plants in the flower room are exposed to light for 12 hours each day to imitate fall so the plants will bud.
“Customers love those big, big, smelly buds,” Nemec said.
PharmaCann has three dispensaries in Ohio — Cincinnati, Hillsboro and Wapakoneta. The marijuana company is headquartered in Chicago and also has cultivation and dispensaries in Michigan, Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York. All those states, but Pennsylvania have legalized recreational marijuana.
Nemec and Black support legalizing marijuana in Ohio.
“We’re certainly supportive of the initiative,” Nemec said. “We’re certainly supportive of the opportunity for Ohio’s voters to make their voice heard on the issue.”
Legalizing recreational marijuana wouldn’t change how PharmaCann grows their plants.
“On the grower side of things, all cannabis is medicinal,” Black said. “There’s no difference between medical, recreational and how we grow our plants, nutrients, whatever we do, it’s all the same. … it’s not like we’re adding medicine into the planet or anything like that.”
We are also going to give consumers an alternative to the black market where products aren’t tested or regulated, so consumers can never be certain they aren’t contaminated with mold, heavy metals, or more dangerous substances like fentanyl. We are also going to ensure that products are tested for potency so that consumers know exactly what they’re getting – just like alcohol consumers.
Folks from Ohio cross the border to Michigan to buy marijuana or buy in the illicit market, Nemec said.
“Ohio could support its own economic development and job creation by transitioning into the adult-use space,” he said.
Haren said this gives folks an “alternative to the black market.”
“We are also going to ensure that products are tested for potency so that consumers know exactly what they’re getting – just like alcohol consumers,” he said in an email.
Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Program
Level I cultivators are allowed to operate an initial marijuana cultivation space up to 25,000 square feet and Level II cultivators can operate a cultivation area of 3,000 square feet.
Twenty-three cultivators have received Level I provisional licenses and 20 have received certificates of operation. 14 have received Level II provisional licenses and 13 have received certificates of operation.
Ninety-two dispensaries have received certificates of operation and 41 have active provisional dispensary licenses, as of July 31.
There have been 778,067 medical marijuana patient recommendations (a patient can have more than one recommendation), according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. 377,384 patients have registered and 176,109 patients have both an active registration and an active recommendation, as of June 30.
“While some of our members are supportive, we as an organization are focused on improving the existing program to help patients and are neutral on the ballot initiative,” Matt Close, executive director of the Ohio Medical Cannabis Association, said in an email.
Haren believes patients will stay in the medical marijuana program, even if adult-use is legalized.
“We think it’s important that they maintain the medical market,” he said. “We think there’s a place for both the medical market and the adult-use market.”
Protect Ohio Workers and Families
Protect Ohio Workers and Families is the main group opposing the marijuana ballot. A handful of organizations have joined the coalition including Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association, Center for Christian Virtue and Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
“With the legalization of medical marijuana, our hospitals have already seen an increase in unintentional ingestions, poisoning and other incidents that are threatening children’s lives,” Nick Lashutka, President and CEO of Ohio Children’s Hospital Association said in a statement last week. “Expanding access to marijuana across Ohio in this reckless manner will only exacerbate the problem.”
Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said states that have legalized marijuana have seen traffic injuries go up 6% on average.
“My goal is keeping you safe,” he said in a short video. “I don’t want to be pulling you or your family out of a wreck. More access to drugs is bad for Ohio.”
Louis Tobin, executive director of Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said it’s a public safety issue.
“From our perspective, recreational or legalized marijuana is just a dangerous thing,” he said.
Haren says these points are “misleading,” saying regulation doesn’t increase youth usage and adult use sales doesn’t lead to more traffic fatalities.
“A regulated market is the best way to keep marijuana out of the hands of kids,” he said in an email.
Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.
